Met by Moonlight
by aeriedescent
Summary: After accidentally witnessing a private moment between two witches, Diana and Akko are hurled down the rabbit hole that is realizing their not so platonic feelings for each other. Confusion, embarrassment and shenanigans ensue, because this is Luna Nova we're talking about, and nothing – not even love – is ever straightforward. (Originally posted on Ao3)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** Cross posted on Ao3. I do not own Little Witch Academia.

* * *

"Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,  
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend  
More than cool reason ever comprehends.  
The lunatic, the lover and the poet  
Are of imagination all compact:  
One sees more devils than vast hell can hold,  
That is, the madman: the lover, all as frantic,  
Sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt:  
The poet's eye, in fine frenzy rolling,  
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;  
And as imagination bodies forth  
The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen  
Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing  
A local habitation and a name."

― **William Shakespeare** , A Midsummer Night's Dream

* * *

Akko was trying to be a better witch, a better student. Really, Diana could see that she was. But her paying-attention-during-class and studying-for-an-adequate-amount-of-time skills still required a lot of refining and fine tuning.

As the end of the term drew nearer, and with final exams just around the corner, Diana had taken it upon herself to facilitate a proper study routine for the easily distracted witch. Because if anyone up for the task of boosting Akko's grades into something passable, it was the heir to the Cavendish family.

And it was helping, at least marginally. Akko's marks had increased, slowly but surely in the past month that Diana had taken her under her prodigious wing. But old habits die hard, and avoiding studying seemed to be second nature at this point.

"Akko," Diana chided, not even glancing up from her rapid scribbling. "I don't see you studying."

Sputtering, Akko glared back defensively. "Nani?! You're not even looking!"

Her writing stilled, and Diana spared Akko an accusatory look before returning her attention back to her neatly written notes.

"What is it you're having troubles with?" Diana finally offered after dotting the end of her sentence and looking up at Akko over her large tome.

Akko peeked up at the sound of her voice, having slumped despondently face down into the pages scattered across her side of the table. Diana was torn in between rolling her eyes and laughing at her companions melodramatic antics.

"These star charts are making my head spin." She said, voice muffled against her notes, before bolting upright with a mischievous grin and messy fringe. "In fact, they're making me see stars!"

This time, Diana actually did roll her eyes. Akko deflated with a whine.

"Aww, kuyashii! That was a good play on words!" Pouting, Akko sank back down onto the table, resting her chin on her crossed arms to glare up at her unappreciative classmate.

"Yes, your mastery of English idioms is quite impressive," Diana deadpanned, although it was much harder to suppress the quirk of her lips at Akko's second slip of mother tongue. "But that's not going to help you pass Astronomy, now is it?"

Groaning obnoxiously, Akkos buried her face back into her arms. Diana's expression softened at the display of frustration, cerulean eyes tracing Akko's defeated form. Her fingers twitched against the pages of her book, as if they wanted to reach out to provide a touch of comfort. But she reigned them in, curling them into a tight fist instead.

"It's already past curfew," Diana said after a moment, rearranging her face back into its normal, collected façade. "We should retire for the night."

A prolonged and undoubtedly dramatic sigh emanated from Akko and she began shuffling her papers messily into her bag. Shaking her head at her friends inability to remain organized if her life depended on it, Diana casted her various books to magically realign themselves back onto the shelves with a flourish of her wand. Once the table had been cleared and heavy bags had been heaved over their tired shoulders, the two witches made their way up to the dormitories.

The halls were otherwise silent as their footsteps echoed through them, candles lighting the way and casting shadows over the portraits of past headmistresses lining the walls. Akko had once confided that she felt like their eyes moved, as if they were always watching her as she passed underneath them. Under the eerie flickering candlelight, Diana couldn't agree more.

The blonde tore her gaze away from the creepy paintings to look sideways at her companion, wondering if Akko was also feeling unnerved walking through the dark corridors. Maybe, if she was uneasy too, they could hold hands... Just to stay brave, no ulterior motives whatsoever on Diana's part, of course.

The witch in question had been oddly silent since leaving the library, not that Diana really minded a small break from the usual mindless chatter, but the brunette seemed to be paying no mind to the wandering eyes of the headmistresses or anything around her at all. Instead Akko seemed quite lost in thought, one side of her rosy bottom lip tucked between her teeth. The sight caused Diana to swallow to in order to recall what she had been thinking about a moment previously.

Suddenly, Akko stopped dead in her tracks, effectively slamming Diana back into the present alongside her.

"Did you hear that?" Akko stage whispered. Diana frowned, unaccustomed to being the one not aware of her surroundings. She tilted her head, trying to pick up on whatever it was that Akko had just heard.

They had stopped at the bottom of the stairwell where the Professors wing split from the student dormitories, and as Diana strained her ears she could faintly hear the timbre of voices drawing closer from down the Professor's hallway.

Akko grabbed her arm roughly, and pulled her away and into a nook in the wall on where they would be obscured from view. Pressed up against one another in a cluster of limbs, Diana's ensuing protests were quieted beneath Akko's fingers.

"Shhh, " Akko hissed, her breath fanning against Diana's neck. "I can't be caught out past curfew... again."

Dianna resisted rolling her eyes, knowing fully well that whatever professor was out walking this late would let them off the hook. She was a Cavendish, after all. Even if hanging out with Akko and inadvertently getting pulled into her schemes was starting to tarnish her spotless reputation of always being well a behaved student.

But as the once unintelligible voices materialized at the top of the stairs, Diana obliged Akko's command and remained silent. Only because she was curious, not because she had become rendered mute under Akko's touch.

One voice unmistakably belonged to Professor Chariot.

"...know you're disappointed that it didn't work. But look at how far you've come with your research, you'll be able to use it to help so many more people!" Came her raspy voice, sounding kind and consoling as ever. Diana turned away from Akko to just barely poke her head around the corner of the nook and see who the other speaker was; Akko gripped her arms from behind to peer over her slightly taller shoulder.

They both gasped inaudibly when the two moving figures came into view on the staircase, and Diana and Akko shared a look of shock as they quickly retreated back against the wall.

Walking down the stairs with Professor Chariot was none other than Croix Meridies.

It had been nearly a year since Akko had used the Grand Triskellion in order to stop Croix's renegade Noir Rod missile from destroying the whole country and restore magic. While Akko, with the unstoppably kind heart that she possessed, was able to forgive Croix after the incident, Diana was for one glad that she would be under strict surveillance during her repentance research for the cure to the Wagandean curse.

"None of that matters if I can't even help you." Croix mumbled, her voice so small that the two hidden students could barely hear it echoing down the corridor. Diana and Akko slowly leaned back out into their previous position to catch another glimpse of the scene unfolding between the two older witches. Their previous professor looked defeated and weary; her grown out hair pulled into a haphazard top knot and a figure so willowy that a gust of wind would be able to knock her over.

Chariot reached out to grasp Croix's hands with her own, halting them both at the bottom of the stairs. Something unspoken seemed to pass through them, and their fingers seamlessly intertwined.

"Croix," She started, her tone so tender that Diana felt a wave of guilt for intruding on a moment that was definitely not meant for her or Akko to witness. "I know you will do absolutely everything in your power. But if you can't cure me, then it's –"

"No!" Croix's booming voice cut Chariot off, who flinched but didn't step back. The lavender haired witch had the decency to look remorseful before pulling her hands away to clutch at her scalp, looking wracked and slightly mad with guilt. "I promised to only come back with the cure and I failed. It's my fault that you were contaminated in the first place, and now I need to... I-I need to make up for everything thing that I've done to you."

Even from their hiding place, Diana could see the way her current and ex professors eyes had begun to swell with emotion, and it stirred something so powerful within her chest that she held her breath in attempt to slow the rapid pace of her heart. Could Akko feel it pumping violently where she was pressed up against her?

"The only thing you need to do, Croix, is to come and visit me more often." Chariot began after a silent moment of contemplation, reaching up to untangle Croix's anxious finger from her hair and hold them once again in her own. Croix stared down at the gentle smile, awestruck, with silver tear tracks glistening under the candlelight. "Je vous attendais pour revenir à moi..."

Having only a limited knowledge of French, Diana could just guess as to what Chariot had mumbled, but what happened next gave her an idea; it was as if a match had been struck and dropped into a pool of awaiting oil, the whole corridor erupting in blinding flames.

The two older witches, once best friends, once enemies, curled around each other like smoke, melting into a desperate and frenzied kiss.

Feeling even guiltier than before for spying on such an intimate moment, Diana reeled back into the nook, heart racing much faster than before. Akko, however, seemed unable to pull her gaze away; her mouth slightly gaping and a hand curled over her chest. Her crimson eye glittered under the candlelight, but Diana couldn't read the expression swimming in them. Perhaps it was as complex as what Diana was experiencing herself; guilt, curiosity, embarrassment, but mostly surprise.

As Diana continued to fixate on the smooth profile of her friend, once rival, with an orchestra of sighs accompanying the rustling of clothing in the background, it felt as if a door was slowly being opened in her chest. One that had maybe always been there, but was just revealing itself to her.

Maybe Akko felt it too, for she finally turned to look back at Diana, and the door threw itself wide open, releasing such a powerful surge of emotion that she barely managed to stay upright. It was too intense, and Diana had to close her eyes and steel herself against the wall as she felt Akko slide back beside her.

They stayed that way, pressed against each others sides, hearts pounding, in complete silence until well after they heard unintelligible whispers and the padding footsteps signaling Chariot and Croix's departure.

Even after the halls returned to their silence and the coast was clear of any wandering lovers, Diana and Akko still walked the short distance back to their dormitories without speaking. Diana wasn't sure what she'd say even if she could summon the words to roll off her tongue, the atmosphere surrounding them felt so charged that it might strike down any attempt.

Instead they exchanged an incredibly awkward wave that was really more a spasm of the hand, barely making eye contact, before Diana all but ran back to her own room. Luckily, Hannah and Barbara were fast asleep so they didn't have to witness the usually composed witch in such an embarrassingly frazzled state.

As Diana crawled into her bed, she tried to make sense of everything she just witnessed, trying to comprehend the feelings swirling around in her stomach. Why had seeing Chariot and Croix kiss affected her so? Sure, it was definitely surprising, but she was beginning to realize that it was more than that. She wasn't ignorant to women having romantic relationships, but she had never knowingly met any couples, let alone seen seen them kiss in person. And that kiss... she was sure it would be burned into her memory forever.

Seeing the way the two women had been so wrapped up in their own passion, so oblivious to the world outside of each other's embrace, it was like a page out of a romance novel. But alive and visceral, swirling behind her eyelids; the way Chariot's fingers had threaded through lavender locks, how Croix's hands had slid around Chariot's waist, drawing her so close as to banish every atom of space that kept them apart. Diana couldn't smother the sigh the memory drew out of her. It was tantalizingly beautiful, tender, awe inspiring and every other clichéd adjective she could think of all at once.

But yet another emotion simmered beneath the surface, which she could barely deduce as... jealousy? Unconsciously frowning, Diana attempted to grapple with this new sensation. If it wasn't because she craved Chariot or Croix's affection for her own, then what was she jealous of?

Akko's profile then flashed across her minds eye; how she had looked beneath the flickering candle light in the hall that night, messy chestnut hair backlit to look like strands of gold, a lovely flush rising in her supple cheeks. How she looked the first time she successfully rode a broom, eyes crinkled and a contagious gleeful smile breaking across her face like sunlight. How she had looked sitting across the table from her, eyes twinkling like the first stars at dusk when Diana had given away her most precious Shiny Chariot trading card. Her smile, her laugh, the scent of her hair when she pulled Diana into an affectionate hug... Oh.

With a quiet gasp, Diana shot up in her bed, eyes wide as the realization dawned on her. She was envious because she herself wanted to express her affections towards the one she cared about in the same way Chariot and Croix had in the hallway.

But with... Akko. Diana wanted to be wrapped in a passionate embrace with Akko while the rest of the world melted away around them. To feel their mouths lock and unlock in an ardent kiss, to hear the way she'd gasp at Diana's fingers threading through her long chestnut hair, to feel their hearts swell as one, to beat in time as a symphony of unspoken confessions...

The image played dangerously (over and over and over) in her mind as she settled back under the covers; the feeling it procured rooted in her chest uncomfortably, insatiable and persistent.

"Brilliant," Diana muttered woefully, rubbing the heels of her palms into her eyes as if it'd scrub the fantasy away. "I'm in love with Akko."

* * *

 **Notes:** _Nani_ \- expression for "huh" or "what"

 _Kuyashii_ \- expression of defeat, like "aw c'mon"  
 _Je vous attendais pour revenir à moi_ \- "I've been waiting for you to come back to me"

Finally getting around to posting this here. I've recently been posting more on Ao3, so feel free to follow me on there under the same username if you'd like to see updates sooner!

Hope you enjoyed my my first crack at a LWA fic! I'm a firm believer that good ol' LGBTQA representation is the greatest aid in validating and understanding one's own sexuality and whatnot, so I hope this fic will come across as accurately portraying that journey.


	2. Chapter 2

_LYSANDER_  
Ay me! for aught that I could ever read,  
Could ever hear by tale or history,  
The course of true love never did run smooth;  
But, either it was different in blood,-

 _HERMIA_  
O cross! too high to be enthrall'd to low.

 _LYSANDER_  
Or else misgraffed in respect of years,-

 _HERMIA_  
O spite! too old to be engaged to young.

 _LYSANDER_  
Or else it stood upon the choice of friends,-

 _HERMIA_  
O hell! to choose love by another's eyes.

– **William Shakespeare,** A Midsummer Night's Dream

* * *

She was in love with Akko. A sleepless night of tossing and turning had forced her to make peace with that fact.

Diana wasn't exactly sure how or when her feelings had started developing, but witnessing the moment between Professor Chariot and Croix the night prior had opened the door to them. And what laid behind that door was still in the process of revealing itself.

What Diana did know was that she suddenly and inexplicably found herself keenly aware of Akko's presence.

It wasn't as if she wasn't aware of it before; Akko seemed to have a knack for stealing the spotlight of Diana's focus, what with her charismatic and sometimes harebrained nature. But this awareness was different. Tactile. Like her brain was constantly measuring and calculating every iota of physical space that ebbed and flowed between them. Space, however, seemed to be the only thing flowing between them today. Akko had been distant all day, but Diana could feel the memory of last night sparking in the air around them like electricity every time they did happen to catch eyes.

Regardless, her mind was still going into overdrive over the half inch currently separating their arms on the desk in Astronomy class. If Diana were to shift _just so_ , they'd be touching.

But before Diana could even think of acting on the urge, Akko crossed her arms with a huff, leaning back in her seat to stare pointedly the rain sliding lazily down the window panes. The gray clouds outside were casting a muted glow within the room, reflecting the brunette's stony expression.

Diana eyed her friend's unusual mood as covertly as possible in her peripherals, wondering what would cause a such a dramatic shift from Akko's usual sleepy demeanor during a lecture.

Well, maybe she did have an idea. In fact, the culprit was in the very same room.

"As you all read for your assignment, the comet Chiron is entering Aries for the first time since 1976. Can anyone tell me what Chiron represents?"

Professor Chariot, now outside of the candle lit embrace of a certain ex-professor, stood at the podium in front of the lecture hall with an elaborate star chart projected behind her. With a flick of her wand, she had charmed a looping illusion of a comet shooting across it's designated quadrant of the map.

Diana's hand shot up in the air, on instinct.

"Yes, Ms. Cavendish!"

"Chiron is known as the Great Teacher or as the Wounded Healer. It represents the different personal obstacles that must be addressed in order to achieve healing and growth." Diana said, closing her eyes in attempt to keep her voice steady. It was hard enough to quell the memories of last night without staring directly at the instigator of them.

"Correct!" Chariot beamed. Normally praise from a professor would cause an irrepressible swell of self pride, but as Diana sank back into her chair, all she felt was relief that her voice hadn't cracked.

She reopened her eyes to find Akko giving her a strange sideways look. Momentarily meeting her gaze, Diana quirked a brow in a silent question, but the look evaporated from Akko's face and she whipped her head to look back at the window.

Diana frowned and tried to ignore the icy grip constricting her chest. Many times she had been on the other side of the cold shoulder Akko was currently giving her, but she never realized how terrible it felt to be on the receiving end. The feeling didn't get easier to ignore as she trained her focus back on Professor Chariot's whimsical and rambling lecture.

"Chiron, although wounds, aims mainly to help us evolve through that pain. It deals with both the universality of our consciousness as well as it's individuality. In Aries, Chiron forces us to examine the wound of our own personal identity. We are explorers, gazing out into the vastness and unexplored territories of ourselves... we must fight through the terrain, the darkness and what lies within to find our truth..."

That stilled her half hearted note-taking as she spared the Japanese witch another quick glance. It was uncanny how on the nose Chariot's words were. Diana internally cursed Chiron for his meddling self reflective energies that were stirring the realizations of her entirely not-platonic feelings for her best friend.

Although her quill had proceeded with its steady scribbling, Diana's mind was racing in the opposite direction. Running down a hall of every interaction she'd ever had with Akko, trying to discern if any foreshadowing for her current predicament could be found in hindsight.

It felt improper, perverse even, to be thinking about her friend so intently when she was sitting in such close proximity, but the memory of last years Samhain Festival washed over Diana nevertheless. What she had felt, or rather, how she had not understood what she had felt while watching Akko completely upending the centuries old sacrificial tradition to accomplish an incredible feat of magic. One that Diana herself would've never dreamed of attempting because she was too seeped into the old ways to ever question them the fearless way Akko did. Although, perhaps it was more reckless than fearless.

At the time she had chalked it up to suppressed jealousy towards the crimson eyed klutz.

And maybe it was a tad bit of envy, but looking back now it was only been a fraction of her true feelings. It had felt like watching Shiny Chariot's show as a child all over again. Inspiring but yet wholly overwhelming. In fact, it had shaken her up so much that she jumped at the opportunity to leave Luna Nova and escape Akko's unfathomable effect on her when problems with her Aunt Daryl arose at the Cavendish estate. Not that it had been a successful escape in the end, because there was Akko, showing up and hurling the flurry of conflicted emotions back in her face.

She was a Cavendish, an heiress tasked with carrying the torch of her family's magical legacy, all while being held to high societies rigorous standards. To be prim and proper, effortlessly demure, and sharp as a tack was expected of her; anything less would be considered failure. It had been incomprehensible that someone so careless, so blindly passionate as Akko could get under her skin, could stir up such a flurry of emotions within Diana. She had thought them to be complete opposites, oil and water, but if she was honest, they were more similar than not. And that thought had terrified her more than anything.

But now? Now, they were friends. They had grown from one-sided rivals to acquaintances after unlocking the fifth word and hindering Aunt Daryl's plot, and blossomed further into friends through working to stop the missile that Croix's revenge plot had inadvertently put into motion. From there on it only flourished, and their shared struggle to regain and hone their magic was no longer a painful reminder but something they shared. The first thread of many that wove their bond.

Old Diana would've been appalled at her and Akko's new dynamic: exchanging countless letters over the summer holiday, sitting next to each other in every shared class, enlarging the small tables in the cafeteria so that their ragtag group of friends could all sit together, and of course, their almost nightly study sessions.

But Diana of this year, even though she'd never admit it out loud, cherished the friendship her and Akko had nurtured together; how easily she was able to draw a smile or even a laugh out of the normally poised witch, how her infectious curiosity pushed Diana to go beyond her self-imposed boundaries, how her sheer perseverance was as exhilarating as it was inspiring, and even how she was able to goad Diana into participating in her sporadic and ridiculous hijinks. Sure, she could be incredibly naive and get so lost in said hijinks to the point of oblivion, but she would never set out to hurt anyone on purpose.

Akko was a whirlwind, uprooting every preconceived notion that Diana held of the world and of herself. And yet here she was, ready to dive headfirst into the eye of that very storm and become swept up in its winds in the process.  
Chancing yet another glance up at the muse of her thoughts, Diana found Akko with her cheek slumped into palm, doodling absentmindedly on her parchment. Her chestnut hair had fallen off to the side, exposing the smooth expanse of her neck. Unwillingly, the image she had conceived in her bed last night, the one of her and Akko wrapped up in a passionate embrace, toyed with her. Only this time, she was pressing her mouth along that long, pale neck, feeling the smooth texture glide beneath her lips, her teeth, and Akko would arch back and sigh her name like a prayer –

 _Riiiiiiiiiing._ Thankfully, the shrill ringing of the bell derailed that particularly dangerous yet titillating thought.

Professor Chariot was reading off the assignment for next class, and Diana barely caught what she said in her attempt to shake her mind out of it's haze.

Praying to Jennifer that there wasn't a blush betraying her rogue thoughts, Diana tried to catch Akko's attention as the class swarmed around them with noises of shuffling papers and sliding chairs after being dismissed. But the witch was out of her seat in a flash, either having not heard Diana call out her name or was just completely ignoring her.

Lotte, catching her confounded expression, gave Diana an apologetic shrug and followed her roommate out of the row. Sucy trailed behind her, looking unaffected or just uninterested in Akko's antics. Probably the latter.

"What's got Kagari's knickers in a twist?" Hannah quipped from Diana's other side, poking her arm to draw her attention. Barbara nodded in agreement, but the blonde ignored them both, hastily tossing her things into her bag and following the Red Team down the stairs, feeling slightly miffed but ultimately more determined to get to the bottom of Akko's unusually sour mood.

Professor Chariot seemed to have a similar idea, for she tried to flag down her favorite pupil, accustomed to their post class chat. But Diana watched from midway on the stairs, stalled by the swarm of other students also exiting, as Akko purposefully ignored the redheaded professor and stomped out of the room with a swish of her half ponytail.

Diana's jaw nearly dropped in shock and her expression was mirrored by Professor Chariot when she finally made it down the stairs, too stunned to continue to rush out after Akko. The once performer beckoned her over, and the hurt swimming behind her spectacles became clearer the closer the heiress drew to her.

"Is everything alright with Akko? That was... very unlike her just now." Chariot trailed off, casting her gaze to the thinning stream of students trickling out of the doorway.

Confusion at her friends behavior battled with the embarrassment of facing Chariot, but she schooled her features into something neutral with some effort.

"I apologize on her behalf, professor. That was indeed very impolite of her. But I'm sure it's just her nerves in anticipation for the upcoming exams. We were up late –" Diana stopped, catching herself mid sentence in panic. She had almost just revealed that her and Akko were roaming the castle at the very same time Chariot was rendezvousing with Croix. Luckily, the teacher seemed not to notice, still looking out into the now empty classroom. "We've been studying quite arduously in the past month in preparation."

Chariot nodded sadly and finally landed her wine colored eyes back on her student. Diana preferred when she wasn't looking directly at her; the redness of her eyes reminded her too much of the witch she was currently lying on behalf of.

"I'll go and talk to her, professor." Diana added, hoping to assuage Chariot's pitiful expression.

"Thank you, Diana. Akko is lucky to have a friend like you." With a motherly tenderness, Chariot patted Diana's shoulder.

Nodding and forcing a small smile, Diana tried her best not to dart out of the classroom in a hurry, forcing herself to walk a normal and dignified pace. Once out into the safety of the empty corridor, she let out a breath of relief.

Astronomy had been the last period of the day, so by now most students had made their way down to the dining hall to snag a table when the doors opened. Hannah and Barbara had likely stopped by their dormitory to drop off their school bags, and so Diana headed in that direction, hoping to catch Akko on the way to dinner.

Her mind was whirring even faster than it had been back in the classroom, spinning with a million questions she didn't have the answers to, something the Cavendish was unaccustomed to and highly frustrated with. What if Akko had the opposite reaction as Diana after witnessing what they had last night? What if she was disgusted by the act of passion that occurred between the two witches, and that's why she had acted so discourteously with Chariot? Would she be repulsed if she knew in what ways Diana had been fantasizing about her?

The last thought incited such a powerful wave of fear within the blonde that she had to pause in the middle of the corridor to catch her suddenly dissipating breath. The world began to swim slightly around her, and she blindly reached an arm out to support herself on the cold stone wall. Because if that really was the case, then Akko not reciprocating her feelings would be the least of Diana's worries.

Panic joined the wave of fear at the prospect of losing Akko as a friend, the possibility of losing something more, and together they merged and twisted into a dagger that cut painfully into her chest. It took multiple heaving breaths to quell it and convince her legs to stop shaking and continue walking.

When she finally reached her room, only slightly calmer, Hannah was laying stomach down on her bed, idly scrolling through her crystal ball. Her normally steadfast companion was noticeably missing.

"Where's Barbara?"

"She went to borrow another Night Fall book from Lotte. They'll meet us at supper." Hannah muttered, not even glancing up from the orbed screen. Her distaste for the romance novels was punctuated by the small grimace tugging at the corners of her mouth. Or maybe it was the growing bond between the two fangirls that was becoming a sore spot for the fellow British witch. "What took you so long?"

"I had some questions for Professor Chariot regarding the next assignment." Diana lied, making her way towards her room to return her books into their designated spots on her shelf. No one, not even her roommate, needed to know about her almost-meltdown that considerably slowed down her walk back to the dormitory.

"Only you would be thinking about schoolwork when the weekend is about to begin." Hannah teased, missing the blonde's eye roll on the other side of the bookcase that separated her bed from her roommates. But before she could retort, a flash of red and brown caught Diana's eye from outside her window.

It wasn't a secret that the Blue Team held one of the more luxurious dormitories on campus, a privilege of coming from prestigious magical families with deep pockets and an extensive donating history. The glass panes near the heiresses' bed nearly reached the ceiling, giving her a spectacular view of the courtyard and the path that led to the Leyline.

Currently making their way towards said path, brooms in hand, were Amanda and Akko. The rain had let up for the moment, gray clouds still hanging low in the sky, and the two were donned in their traveling cloaks.

Amanda must've cracked one of her crude jokes, for Akko threw her head back in laughter and bumped her shoulder into the taller girls, who returned the gesture with a wry grin.

Diana's gut twisted painfully for what felt like the millionth time in the past 24 hours.

"I'm starving, shall we?" Suddenly standing in the doorway, Hannah's question shook Diana out of her reverie. Hannah frowned when she caught her friends expression. "You look positively gutted, what's wrong?"

Not even giving her time to answer, Hannah waltzed her way into the room and next to Diana to look out of the window. The blonde went stiff, paralyzed and unable to come up with a convincing response.

"Is that Akko and Amanda? They look awful chummy. Wonder where they're sneaking off to." The auburn haired witch observed offhandedly, unintentionally setting off gut twist number one-million-and-one.

"As I recall, you're starving. We should get going." Diana said, finding her voice but failing miserably to sound casual. She barely made it one step towards the doorway before Hannah's hand grabbed her wrist, spinning her back.

"Hold on a second," Iron grip in place, Hannah surveyed her friends face with a laser like intensity. "Is that," She gestured vaguely to the two figures fading in the distance with her free hand, "Why you look like someone used your wand to burn down the entire library and then proceeded to snap it in two?"

Yes, was the immediate answer than popped into Diana's head, but she reigned it in, trying to come up with every and any excuse to throw one of her oldest friends off her trail. But why was she feeling, as Hannah put it, absolutely gutted at the sight of Akko running off with Amanda? It was unclear on whether or not the Japanese witch was even capable of harboring feelings for other girls, but still jealousy seemed to manifest at the sight of them together. Especially after Akko had barely spoken a word to Diana all day.

Unable to sort through the swarm of her mind, Diana stood, mouth gaping like she was attempting to speak fish. It was good enough as actually saying yes out loud. Hannah's eyes widened and then narrowed, and the heiress watched in fear at the pieces came together behind their hazel surface.

"Did something happen between you and Akko? Is that why she was acting dodgy after class?" Hannah asked. Diana still couldn't conjure a response, so she took the silence as cue to press on. "I know you two have gotten quite close lately, but friends don't look like that," She gestured this time to Diana's paling features "When their friend is spending time with other people. Diana, do you..."

And if she didn't look like a deer in headlights a moment ago, Diana was positive she did now. If it were anyone else Hannah was interrogating, she would've obliterated them into roadkill by now. Diana had seen her in action many times. But her features softened, morphing from inquisitive to understanding, and her hold on her wrist slackened as she reached out grasp Diana's other hand.

"Do you fancy her?"

A million excuses were perched on the tip of her tongue, but for the life of her, Diana could not convince them to take flight. The sincerity in which Hannah was looking up at her with made it impossible to lie, because it seemed her friend already knew the answer.

The sound of the door opening at the front of the dorm prevented her from confirming it.

"Oi, Hannah? Are you still here?" Barbara's voice called out, and a moment later she peeked around the doorway into Diana's room. Her dark brows furrowed as her eyes shifted across her the link of her roommates tethered hands. "Oh, Diana! What's going on here?"

The sight of a mop of strawberry blonde hair and spectacles hovering behind Barbara made Diana immediately drop Hannah's hands, a flush deepening down to her neck. Lotte had almost heard her confess her feelings for Akko, and although Diana doubted the bookworm would do anything malicious with that information, she still wasn't ready for that particular fact to be public knowledge. She barely had begun to digest it herself.

"Nothing." Diana managed, straightening to her full height to regain some sort of dignity.

The air in the room was suddenly thick with tension as Barbara continued to look at them skeptically, her gaze lingering on Hannah who had crossed her arms and was staring back with an unreadable expression.

"Are you sure?" Barbara asked, not sounding all too convinced.

"Of course, nothing to worry about." Hannah said, voice clipped. She linked her arm through Diana's and pulled them past Barbara and Lotte towards the door. It was impossible to miss the third roommate's upset expression, and how obviously Hannah brushed past it. "Let's get going, I'm absolutely starving now."

Diana let herself be dragged down the hallway and into the dinning hall, Barbara and Lotte trailing behind them. Her mind was racing yet again, addled by the string of strange occurrences and unspoken conversations filtering around her.

Dinner was passing by in a blur, as she picked mindlessly at her tray of food. She could feel the burning looks Hannah was shooting her, and how Barbara was watching them both in confusion, but she ignored it all. She wished to have a moment alone, some peace for her mind to process everything. Trying to form a coherent thought over the constant table chatter was becoming increasingly difficult.

But more than anything, she wished that the vacant chair sitting next to hers was filled with its normal, bubbly inhabitant.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Little Witch Academia

* * *

Or, if there were a sympathy in choice,  
War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it,  
Making it momentary as a sound,  
Swift as a shadow, short as any dream,  
Brief as the lightning in the collied night,  
That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth,  
And ere a man hath power to say "Behold!"  
The jaws of darkness do devour it up.  
So quick bright things come to confusion

– **William Shakespeare,** A Midsummer Night's Dream

* * *

If the new tangible awareness of Akko's presence was sharp, the feeling of her absence was even more piercing. A dull ache would flare up every time Diana thought of something she wanted to share with her best friend; a curious passage in her medical textbook, a Shiny Chariot trivia fact, or even something as mundane as which underclassmen she had caught sneaking out past curfew last night, before the realization of the situation would come crashing miserably down around her all over again. Again and again and again .

It was utterly maddening the way everything had been turned on its head. How accidentally stumbling upon their snogging professors had caused such a sudden divide between the two witches, a divide who's meaning for existance continued to elude Diana. It was ludicrous, the absurdity of it all was enough to make anyone tear their own hair out; thankfully the heiress had managed to repress that particular urge for the time being.

Admitting to herself that she loved Akko as more than just a friend was surprising and difficult enough, like an oyster being forced open to reveal it's vulnerable flesh, but the disappearing contact between the two of them was even worse. Rejection without ever confessing.

It was indeed a pathetic predicament.

Feeling pathetic, however, was not part of her repertoire. Prodigious. Diligent. Composed. Those were all characteristics that Diana was used to being described as. Terms she was comfortable in, settling around her like a second skin. She was the star pupil of Luna Nova, and although it was a tasking role to play, it was one she knew how to perform.

Pathetic felt alien. It peeled off her normally thick skin and seeped into her bloodstream, her subconscious. Stealing her precious hours of sleep and leaving her sluggish and forlorn.

Diana lamented her plight as she nestled into the gnarled trunk of a tree on the edges of the Arcturus forest. She had finally found the seclusion she had been craving since last night's supper, but it seemed that even the peace and quiet of nature couldn't help her regulate her thoughts. Her mind had become a broken record, looping back on itself in an endless purgatory. Always circling around to Akko, trying to dissect her strange behavior and incomprehensible motivations to no end.

The memory of her dazzling smile played out arduously in Diana's mind. The sound of her laugh, a melancholy echo.

The wind shifted the budding leaves above her head, letting the muted sunlight leak through. Shadows fluttered across the pages of her forgotten textbook sitting in her lap, unnoticed by the heiress as she stared blindly out into the depths of the forest, mind swirling darkly. For a moment she imagined walking into the Arcturus Forest, never to return.

It was that intrusive thought that snapped her from her reveries.

"By the Nines," Diana reprimanded herself. Her fists clenched over the open book, her blank gaze blazing into a determined one. "I will not subject myself to this any longer."

There had to be some way to get herself sorted out, to find a way to make peace with her newly discovered feelings. Talking to Akko seemed out of the question at the moment, seeing as she was set on ignoring her.

The young prodigy racked her brain for a solution for another moment before an epiphany suddenly dawned upon her.

"Aha!"

Birds settled into the branches above her took flight, startled by the sudden outburst. Diana was too perplexed that she hadn't come up with such a simple solution sooner to even notice the disturbancw.

Gathering her things in a near frenzy, Diana headed back towards the castle in the most dignified jog that she could manage. Her legs slowly began to burn from the effort, but nothing so trivial could delay her.

The sun now hung high in the sky, occasionally peeking out from behind the clouds that had lingered from yesterday's storms, reflecting off of the puddles pooled in the dips of the ancient stonework of the courtyard as Diana nimbly navigated around them.

She was so blinded by her determination that she nearly crashed into someone who had crossed her path. Her auburn haired roommate set Diana with sharp look, hand shifting to her hip.

"Well, well, well." drawled Hannah. "Look who finally decided to show up. Avoiding something – or someone?"

Diana adjusted the bag on her shoulder in annoyance, because yes, it was possible that she was avoiding a certain Red Team member in retaliation of being ignored herself, but that didn't mean she wanted to admit it out loud. Vocalizing it would only cement the fact of how embarrassingly petty the whole situation had become.

"I'm not avoiding anything, or anyone. I was merely out on the grounds to study in peace." replied Diana evenly, despite the fact that her attempts at revisions had been quite abysmal.

"Oh come off it, Diana. We both know that's a pile of bollocks."

"Language," chided the heiress, sending her friend a tempered glare. Even as immersed as she was in her own dilemmas, Diana wouldn't stand for such ill mannered conduct from her friend.

"Bollocks, bollocks, bollocks!" Hannah mocked while pulling a face. If Diana wasn't annoyed with her immature antics (and how easily she could see through her façade) she might've laughed at the ridiculous display. Obviously she had been spending too much time with the Green Team.

"Very mature, Hannah. Now if you'll excuse me, I don't have time for this childlike behavior." said Diana icily, pushing past her roommate. She was on a mission to pull herself out of her miserable state, and every distraction merely prolonged it.

"Wait, Diana!" Hannah called out apologetically, dropping her accusatory tone. The blonde turned slowly on her heel, releasing a frustrated sigh as she addressed her friend once more. "I'm sorry. It's just that – Well, you don't have to lie about this. I know that you fancy Ak–"

"Shhh! " snapped Diana frantically. Realizing her faux-pas, she backpedaled. "I mean– I don't know of what you are speaking."

Hannah narrowed her eyes skeptically.

"I saw the way you were looking at her and Amanda through the window yesterday, like a lover spurned! Trust me, I would know –"

Something behind Diana had caught the other witches attention mid-sentence. Leaning to the side, Hannah's eyes widened and she mumbled something Diana barely registered as "Speak of the Devil," under her breath .

Purposefully, Hannah pushed past her roommate and set off across the courtyard.

Aghast at her friends repeated lack of courtesy, Diana turned to see what the catalyst for such behavior could be. Dread slid down her face when she found her answer: a redhead landing in the middle of the courtyard with an ostentatious twirl of her broom.

But despite the anxiety gripping her chest, the heiress couldn't help noticing the change in Amanda's appearance.

She was clad in her usual weekend attire: a wrinkled cropped t-shirt over a casual pair of denim, and her ever-filthy and somehow always untied sneakers. Her hair, however, had been cropped short on the sides, leaving the center long and windswept. It gave the American witch somewhat of a boyish appearance, but Diana had to begrudgingly admit that it rather suited her. It was almost charming. Keyword being almost; the memory of her and Akko departing together from campus yesterday cancelled out any pleasant feelings Diana felt towards Amanda's new look.

Hannah must've just acknowledged the new hairstyle, for when Diana finally reached the pair she was intensely eyeing the Green Team member run her hand through it to fix whatever coiffure the wind had tousled.

"What, don'tcha like it? Here I thought I looked pretty dashin'." A smirk tugged it's way across Amanda's face as she surveyed the shorter witch, coiling a strand around a nimble finger.

The beginnings of a blush began blotching at Hannah's cheeks as she folded her arms uncomfortably, flickering her gaze in between the redheaded witch and a crack in the cobblestone.

"Well, it's most certainly a statement."

"And what kinda statement would that be, England?" Amanda asked, tilting her head as she continued studying Hannah. Her smirk had split into a wider, wryer grin, like she was enjoying the reaction she was creating; like her question hadn't really been a question.

"Ah– you know..."

Blush deepening and eyes wide as saucers, Hannah seemed unable to elaborate further, pulling her crossed arms tighter around herself. Her expression was attempting to remain nonchalant, but it was obvious how flustered she was by the now matching shade of her face and hair.

Diana watched the interaction in confusion as Amanda's laughter peeled through the courtyard. There was a strange tension whirring around her two companions that she couldn't quite find the right word to describe, but she felt as if her presence had gone unnoticed until Amanda's laughter finally ceased and she turned her head to address the heiress.

"Ah, and if it isn't the Queen of Hearts, here to rescue Tweedledee." She said in a poor attempt at a prim accent. "But, oh my, where's Tweedledum?"

Deciding her fear of Hannah accidentally giving away her game was premature, Diana rolled her eyes. This was quickly wasting the time that she could be spending productively sorting out the jumbled mess that Akko had inadvertently created in her mind.

But now that Amanda had pointed it out, it did seem out of place that Barbara wasn't with her fellow Blue Team members for this petty confrontation. Now that Diana thought back, she had been notably missing from Hannah's side as of recently as well.

"How charming," Hannah said, finally regaining her composure. Her arms unwound to settle at her hips and her words dripped with sarcasm. "It seems the bumpkin has managed to read a children's book."

"Who's got time for readin'," said Amanda haughtily. "I watched the movie."

Hannah laughed incredulously as Diana groaned, beginning to edge her way towards the main castle entrance.

"If you two are going to continue with your pointless banter, I'll excuse myself."

"Diana's right, we have some questions for you, O'Neil." The auburn haired witch conceded, missing or just ignoring Diana's intention of leaving. The aforementioned turned back, the fear of her affections for Akko being revealed to the redhead instilled once more.

Amanda's skeptical emerald gaze shifted back to Hannah, rocking her broom back and forth from one hand to the other.

"Ain't gotta answer to you."

Ignoring her, Hannah continued. "Where did you and Akko run off to during supper last night?"

The ground disappeared beneath Diana's feet, dropping her racing heart down past her stomach. Any remaining color seeped out of her face, but Hannah was oblivious to the frantic look she was shooting at her. The prodigious witch knew her roommate was only trying to help, but she was doing a truly wretched job of it; confronting Amanda about her and Akko's whereabouts last night would only raise suspicions, and Diana did not need to add ammunition to Green Team member's arsenal of teasing.

After recovering from a momentary look of shock, Amanda once again let out a booming laugh.

"That's your question?" Stifling her laughter, she sent Diana a poignant look before returning her smirk at Hannah. "Sorry Tweedle, mum's the word. Don't wanna spoil nothin' for blondie here."

As if that was an adequate end to the conversation, Amanda kicked her broom over her shoulders with a flourish and strutted towards the far entrance of the courtyard in the direction of the kitchens. Her newly cropped hair bounced in time with her strides, like tiny flames licking at her skull. Clusters of small underclassmen giggled and hid awed whispers behind their hands as she sauntered by.

The two Blue Team witches stood remained rooted in their spots, exchanging baffled expressions at the sudden departure.

"What did she mean by that?" asked Hannah.

A coherent answer was incapable of immediately forming on Diana's tongue. Fresh surges of emotion had flooded her mind, echoing and multiplying upon the same query her friend had just voiced; what was it that couldn't be spoiled? Was Akko planning something for her? Would that explain her distant behaviour? Was this all just one giant misunderstanding that Diana had constructed and blown out of proportion in her head?

Something akin to hope began prickling beneath her skin.

"I'm not entirely sure." Diana breathed.

Hannah hummed suspiciously. "I'll get to the bottom of this." She declared, setting off after Amanda.

"Wait," said Diana, pulling her back by her sleeve, again panicked at the thought of raising the redheads suspicions. As a cautionary measure, she donned her subtly commanding voice. "I'd prefer if this... matter stayed between the two of us."

Sighing dolefully as she eyed the entrance that Amanda had disappeared through, Hannah then considered the heiress carefully before nodding.

"Your secret is safe with me."

A sigh exhaled slowly from her lungs as Diana smiled slightly in relief.

"Thank you." said Diana. A moment of understanding passed between them and a profound appreciation for her longtime friend permeated through the heiress.

"Care to become a reluctant member of the Night Fall fan club with me? Barb and Lotte keep pestering me to come see some silly production they've been working on." offered Hannah, her tone causal yet hopeful. "It could be entertaining."

Diana hesitated, feeling guilty for neglecting the fellow British witch as a byproduct of her internal struggles. She envisioned herself as a scale struggling to balance: her duty to her friends, the professors, and the school versus the inner turmoil she was currently trying to digest. One side felt incredibly heavier.

"Possibly later?" She said apologetically. "There really is a matter I must attend to."

Nodding over a frown, Hannah tried to conceal her disappointment. The guilt of acting out of self interest instead of accompanying her friend persisted in Diana's throat as the two exchanged goodbyes and departed in their separate ways.

Diana had always undertaken the needs of others before her own. It was not only the duty of the Luna Nova's shinning prodigy, but it had become expected of her. Classmates would ask for her aid with difficult spells, professors would request her consultation on advanced matters, and she always strived to devote what time she could to her friends. But with the increasing level of difficulty of their penultimate year and it's upcoming rigorous examinations, the blonde was feeling spread progressively thinner and thinner.

Add to the mix a sudden shift in the relationship with her best friend and anyone in her situation, Diana rationalized to herself, should warrant at least one day to be selfish.

No longer in quite the rush as she was before the unexpected altercation in the courtyard, the heiress let her feet carry her in the direction of her destination as her mind unintentionally looped back to thoughts of Akko. They carried her up the winding staircase, through the sunlit corridors and up to the dormitory wing. But instead of turning down the hallway towards her own room, she headed in the opposite direction; through a long and poorly lit hallway, and up another spiral staircase to the farthest tower.

So lost in her rumination, she didn't at first notice the figure standing in front of her destination. It wasn't until she reached the top step that Diana realized it was the muse of her thoughts that stood in front of Professor Chariot's door, looking lost in reflections of her own.

"Akko?" Diana said, shattering the silence of the small landing like a rock hurled through a glass window.

As the Red team member jumped in surprise, Diana realized why at first she hadn't recognized her friend. Like Amanda, her hair was different: cut to the nape of her neck and carefully curled and styled to hang asymmetrically to one side of her face. In place of her casual weekend garb was a bright red leather jacket over a pair of tight black jeans, a layered belt that looked more complicated than useful, and black heeled boots that were certainly higher than school regulations permitted. The whole ensemble looked awfully reminiscent of someone that Diana couldn't immediately place. More curiously, however, was the giant bouquet of flowers that Akko quickly shoved behind her back.

"Diana!" said Akko, caught off guard. A large coil of hair obstructed her face due to her jerky movements, and she made to push it out of the way. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Diana replied, eyes furrowed. Akko shifted uncomfortably, face reddening and unable to answer.

"I– uh, was... well," Akko managed, shrinking visibly under the Blue team's leader scrutinizing gaze.

It was clear now where her and Amanda had visited when they went to town together, but it still wasn't obvious as to why the pair needed a haircut. The gears in Diana's mind were spinning furiously, piecing together a reason as to why Akko would be visiting Chariot with a fancy new hairstyle, a strange outfit, and a bouquet.

"Why are you hiding those flowers?" Diana demanded, as the pieces began slowly clicking together like a puzzle. "And why are you dressed like that?" Another piece. "You look like..."

Akko's expression now reminded the heiress of what she had felt when Hannah had confronted her in their dormitory. An animal facing down their demise. A feeling of equal uneasiness began percolating through Diana as the realization began to materialize before her.

Any and every painful feeling that had washed over her due to to confusion between her and Akko in the past two days held no ground to the slow fracturing of her heart as she stared at her first love in the dimly lit landing. It was as if the earth had suddenly decided to spin in the opposite direction, leaving Diana disoriented, vertigo pushing the taste of bile up her throat. Hurt was thick on her tongue as she spoke once again.

"Why are you dressed like Professor Croix?"

The final piece of the mystery fell into place for Diana as she realized that Amanda had been mistaken when she insinuated that whatever trip he and Akko had taken had been for her benefit. It wasn't the heiress' door the Japanese witch was waiting outside of with flowers. It was Chariot's.

When Diana had been looking affectionately at Akko in the moonlit hallway the other night, Akko had been looking at her lifetime idol. While the sight of Chariot and Croix together had inspired Diana's feelings for Akko to bloom, it had spurred feelings for someone else entirely in Akko.

It would explain why she had been distant with the heiress, why she had been so cold to Chariot after class yesterday.

"W-what?! I'm not dressed like Croix!" Akko sputtered unconvincingly, confirming Diana's suspicions.

The space between the fractures in her heart froze over, turning her agony into a cold malice. It was as if a layer of ice had creeped over her entire being, a fortification worthy of a the Cavendish castle. Diana never wanted to feel any emotion ever again. She never wanted expose her vulnerability to another soul for the rest of her life.

"Don't act as if I'm the daft one here," Diana hissed. A rational part of her knew she was lashing out, but her tongue had turned sharp and was unwilling to yield. "Out of all of your asinine schemes, this one has to be the most moronic."

Akko's demeanor morphed as well. Her babbling of unintelligible excuses had ceased and the Red Team member's face pinched in a matching rage. No longer bothering to hide the flowers, her fists were clamped in front of her and shaking, sending petals fluttering to pool around her feet.

"This isn't moronic," she spat back. "I couldn't just sit back while my–"

"Your what," said Diana icily, cutting Akko off. "You are aware that she is your professor, correct? That this is not only wildly inappropriate, butillegal ?"

"I love her!" Akko cried desperately, still vibrating angrily. "I always have!"

"What were you planning on doing here, Akko? Did you expect to show up dressed like a knock-off Croix and sweep your teacher off on a broom you can barely ride?"

As soon as the words left Diana's mouth she regretted them. But Akko's confession of love for Chariot had completely shattered the ice encasing her, piercing her right through her already raw heart, making it impossible to suppress the urge to retaliate in the exact same manner. Aim and shoot where she knew it would hurt.

Fat tears welled in Akko's crimson eyes as she recoiled, as if physically pained by her friends words. Diana had never felt so guilty in her life, watching the bottom lip of her best friend quiver because of the cruelty she had just inflicted. But the aching in her chest had sewn her mouth shut, halting any immediate apologies.

Slowly, in a voice too cold to emanate from someone so normally effervescent, Akko whispered, "Screw you."

And without sparing the heiress another look, Akko pushed passed her and disappeared down the stairwell. The silence following her exit was louder than their shouting had been.

A moment later, a long swish of red hair emerged from the creaking door the pair had just been arguing outside of.

"Diana? What's going on? I thought I heard yelling." asked Chariot, pivoting towards her student standing frozen in the middle stairwell landing.

Concern painted the professors expression as the normally composed witch didn't respond. As if in a trance Diana continued staring blankly at the space Akko had just vacated, like she wasn't really aware her surroundings. Her mind had gone all together blank, reeling in shock from how quickly the fight had escalated. How fast her whole situation had turned from miserable to utterly unbearable. How splintered her heart felt. An almost imperceptible tremble radiated from her hands.

"Oh là là," Chariot mumbled consolingly. She gently steered Diana towards her office. "Come inside, ma chérie. I'll make some tea, alright?"

Absently wiping the silent tears streaming from her eyes, the only thing Diana's gaze picked up on was the trail of flowers petals leading down the stairs as she allowed Chariot to guide her inside.

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 **AN:** Thank you to everyone for your sweet comments and faves! They really mean a lot to me.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

-M


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